conjunction with him and giving him an Explanation of its Contents From which if the Patient shall think himself in some measure inlightened but not yet sufficiently acquainted with some certain Articles thereof the Minister may prudently and dexterously instruct him concerning the same without any shew of catechising of him but by way of Prayer exhorting him to say after him Lord I commend my Soul to Thee O most Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity Father Son and Holy Spirit One only God in Three Persons and Unity of Substance have mercy upon me I commit my self to Thee O Father Almighty who hast created Heaven and Earth and all things visible and invisible I commend my self to Thee O Blessed JESU Saviour of my Soul who wast sent from Heaven by the Father Eternal Who wast conceived by the Operation of the Holy Ghost in the Womb of the Virgin MARY Who Suffer'dst Dyedst and wast Buried Who didst descend into Hell and rosest again on the Third Day Who ascendedst into Heaven and art sitting on the right Hand of God the Father Almighty From whence Thou shalt come to Judge all Men who are to rise again in their own Bodies giving Life to such of them as shall have dyed in Grace and adjudging the Reprobates to Eternal Fire I commend my self to Thee Holy Spirit who proceedest both from the Father and the Son and whom together with these Two Divine Persons I adore with one and the same Adoration who inlivenest and sanctifiest One Catholick and Apostolick Church on Earth in which Thou hast ordain'd Two Sacraments for the Remission of Sins and Communion with Thy Self I beseech Thee I humbly intreat Thee through Thine Own Merits O sweet JESU my Redeemer by Thy tender Love and Mercy and by all that Thou hast done and suffered for me to lead me to those Mansions of Eternal Bliss and Glory which Thou hast prepar'd for those that love Thee Amen The same thing may be done also by way of Oblation as I Offer up my Heart and my Soul to Thee O Lord who c. Or by way of Supplication as Have mercy upon me O Lord c. Or Lastly by way of Thansgiving as I thank Thee O most Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity Father Son and Holy Ghost One only God in Three Persons who hast created c. as before The Minister may also instruct the Patient by raising his Hope towards God and shewing him what Father he has by Creation and at the same time explaining to him those Articles of Faith that respect the Divinity Then by shewing him who his Redeemer is and acquainting him with the Mystery of the Incarnation And lastly by telling him who is his Comforter discoursing to him of the Holy Spirit and of the Graces which he communicates to us In like manner may he teach him the Articles of his Belief by causing him to ponder the Benefits and Favours God has done him by representing to him that the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost have created all Things for him and that Jesus Christ who is the Word equal to his Father has been willing to put on Human Flesh in order to his Redemption from Sin and Death and the purchasing for him a Crown of Everlasting Glory All these different Ways of explaining the Articles of the Christian Faith to One that is not throughly acquainted with them may also be very useful to those that are the most perfect therein not for instructing but inciting them to Acts of Faith especially when drawing near to Death it being very necessary at that juncture to fix in the Patient a Belief of those Blessings he hopes to enjoy to all Eternity CHAP. VI. How the Minister is to raise and exercise the Hope of the Sick Person FIRST of all he must examine how his Soul is affected there being three sorts of Dispositions to be found in Sick Persons Some have little Hope with much Fear whether proceeding from a Natural Timorousness and the remembrance of their Sins that perhaps are very many and heinous or from the Craft and Malice of the Devil who having propos'd to them while they were in health God's Mercy alone abstracted from his Justice for the more easie inducing them to a Security in Sinning does now they are approaching Death and Judgment present to their Eyes the Severity of God's Justice unattended with his Mercy to the end he may cast them into Despair concerning their Salvation and so harden them to a thorough impenitence Others there are who on the contrary exceed in Hope even to Presumption as thinking of nothing but the Virtuous Actions and good Works they fancy to have done and regarding only the Divine Mercy and infinite Merits of Christ without reflecting at all upon their Sins or the Judgments denounced by God against them The third and last sort are such as have neither Hope nor Despair in whom it is therefore expedient to excite the former by the Means we shall next endeavour to shew referring it to another place to speak of raising the Hope of the Timerous and moderating that of the Presumptuous As the principal Object of Hope is God He being the Author of that Felicity we look for so there are two Things which the Minister is chiefly to attend to with regard to this Head The one is the raising and fixing the Sick Person 's Hope upon the Glory Eternal The other is the exciting him to a Christian Confidence that he shall attain to it He may raise his Hope and strengthen his Courage by telling him that within a little time the Torments and Afflictions which always accompany this present Life will be at an end He may comfort him also with that which made the Prophet rejoyce namely The glad Tidings of his being now going to the House of God Wherein he shall feel no more Pains nor Cares nor Grief the same Prophet assuring us that no Harms no Sufferings no Torments no Fears shall ever come nigh the Everlasting Mansions Where also as St. John says God shall wipe away all Tears from our Eyes The Minister shall endeavour to lift up his Heart and Mind to the Heavenly Jerusalem that Divine City and sure Refuge from all our Enemies where the World the Flesh and the Devil shall no longer be able to pursue after us and where we shall reap the Eternal Fruits of our Victories over them and be Crowned with immortal Life and Glory It may inspire the Sick Person with some sort of Joy too to put him in mind that he will shortly return his acceptable Thanks to Almighty God for his having led him as it were through Fire and Water into a Place of true Refreshment and Delight Let him repeat sometimes the Words which God spake by his Prophet Isaiah Behold I will extend Peace to them like a River and Glory like a flowing stream that is I will cause their hearts to overflow with joy and tranquility Let him remember with St.
a Sick Person is by Words or Sentences taken out of the Holy Scripture and adapted into a Form of Prayer which the Minister shall first devoutly pronounce and the Patient if able repeat after him saying both with Heart and Mouth O Almighty God and my Eternal Creator I shall ever be troubled in my Mind until I am perfectly united to Thee The Number of my Transgressions I confess should set me far from that happy Union But Thine infinite Mercy will draw me to Thy self Remember Lord that I am the Work of Thine own Hands and that through the means of Thy Blessed Son Jesus Christ Thou hast call'd me to the Participation of Thy Kingdom I acknowledg my unfaithfulness to be such as renders me wholly unworthy so great a Favour But by the Merits of Thine only Son vouchsafe I beseech Thee to admit me into that Place of Rest and Bliss where I shall to all Eternity celebrate the Glory of Thy Name Be Thou pleased O Father of Mercies to look upon me as a miserable Slave whom Thou hast redeem'd with the Sacred Blood of Thy Dear Son and whose Sins Thou hast punish'd and taken satisfaction for by causing Him to die upon the Cross O have pity on my Soul and suffer not that so much Merit be cast away upon me In Thee O Lord do I put my trust let me never be confounded But deliver me for the sake of Thy dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ who by the Merits of his Death and Passion is become my Righteousness my Sanctification and my Redemption Why art thou so full of heaviness O my Soul and why art thou so disquieted within me O put thy trust in God for I will yet give him thanks who is the help of my Countenance and my God Blessed are they O Lord that dwell in Thy House they shall be always praising Thee O lead Thou me into that Sacred Place where I may return Thee perpetual Thanks for the great Benefits Thou hast bestow'd upon me And Thou O my Saviour Jesus Christ who didst undergo the heavy Punishment due to my Sins that I might be capable of Eternal Happiness hast said that Thou art the Resurrection and the Life that he who does believe in Thee shall never die nay though he was even dead shall live O my God! I believe in Thee and hope e're long to enjoy and possess Thee in the Land of the Living I will come into Thy House I will worship in Thy Temple and confess Thy Name For Thou art the Way the Life and the Truth I have set God before mine Eyes and He is on my right hand so that I shall not fall Wherefore my heart is glad and does rejoyce My Flesh also shall rest in hope Thou shalt shew me the Path of Life In Thy Presence is the fulness of Joy and at Thy right Hand there is Pleasure for evermore The Minister shall also cause the Sick Person to mix Contrition with his Hope crying-out with David Have mercy upon me O God after Thy great goodness according to the multitude of Thy Mercies do away mine Offences Wash me throughly from my Wickedness and cleanse me from my Sin For I acknowledge my faults and my Sin is ever before me Against Thee only have I sinned and done ill in Thy sight Turn Thy Face from my Sins and put out my my Misdeeds Make me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me In a word let not his Hope of Pardon be any ways confin'd but let it be extended to all his past Sins whether Sins of Commission or Sins of Omission whether actual Offences against God and his Neighbour or neglect of his Duty towards both To which purpose the following Ejaculations may be us'd O Blessed JESU my only Helper and Amender repair that good which I have so unworthily destroy'd in my self by the abuse I have made of thy Graces to me as well as the scandal I have given my Neighbour by my ill Example Words and Actions Supply the imperfections and unprofitableness of my Life which with grief I confess to have spent in coldness towards Thee and indifference for my own Salvation Thou canst O Lord if Thou wilt even in the little time that I have now remaining restore to me all that I have lost Supply my wants and strengthen the weakness and infirmitys of my Soul Of all the Actions of my Life there is not one how pure soever it may appear but has been attended with many defects nor have I the least merit of my own But I fly to Thee O my Saviour beseeching Thee to support me with the abundance of Thy Grace to apply the Merits of Thy Sufferings to my Soul and present her to thy Father all covered with that most precious Blood Thou hast shed for her so as she may find Mercy with Him and be admitted into his Kingdom of Glory The Minister having thus established him in the Hope he ought to have of obtaining the forgiveness of all his Sins he may if he finds him able to bear it still continue the exercising of him in pious Thoughts and Ejaculations requiring him to say after him with an attentive mind O Father of Mercy and God of all Comfort be favorable to me and pardon the numberless Errors and Wickednesses and extravagancies of my Life who like the Prodigal Son whom Thou hast propos'd to me as an Instance of Thy Fatherly Goodness have wasted and abus'd not only the Temporal but Spiritual Talents which Thou hadst committed to my improvement O my gracious God I humbly beseech Thee for the Lord Jesus Christ ' s sake and by the Merits of his Death and Passion forgive me all my Sins and remit the Punishment due to me for them O Lord JESU to whom all Power and Authority belongs Thou hast promis'd that those who forgive the injuries done to them Thou wilt also forgive I do heartily forgive every one that has offended me Vouchsafe therefore to forgive me all my Wickednesses Ingratitudes and Infirmities and let thy Death make atonement for whatever I have done amiss to the end that when my Soul shall be separated from this Earthly Body she may presently be united to Thee and made Partaker of Thy Glory The Minister may also if he judges it convenient express himself in other words remembring especially to put the Sick Person often in mind of the great Love of Christ towards him and of the unspeakable Sufferings He has undergone to make Satisfaction for his Sins that the remembrance thereof may encrease his Hope and excite him to Acts of Faith Charity and Contrition CHAP. VII The Means for exciting Charity in a Sick Person AS Charity is of all Virtues the most excellent and the greatest of all Spiritual Gifts so the Minister ought as much as in him lies to entertain the Sick Person in this Divine Love and
said before of God Himself who being Omniscient cannot be mistaken in his knowledge and being the very Truth cannot deceive or impose upon Us by false Revelation CHAP. XIII How to comfort a Sick Person that is mistrustful of God's Mercy and troubled with Desparing Thoughts 1. THE Minister is to examine the chief Motive of his Distrust whether it be that he is still linked to some beloved Sin that he cannot easily part with such as Hatred or Covetousness or Carnal Lust or the like Of which we shall treat in the Seventeenth Chapter Or whether there lies something hid in his Heart which he ought to repent of the Minister exhorting him at the same time to make a sincere Confession of his Sins to God and throughly bewail them whereby to remove his diffidence and set his Soul entirely at peace 2. If the Patient has no Cause to mistrust God's Goodness to him but is terrified only with the remembrance of his past Sins or the Temptations he is now disturbed with then let the Minister excite his Hope First towards God whom he has offended by telling him that God is always ready to forgive him That he is a Merciful Father That his Graces are infinite That He is full of Tenderness and Compassion and that His Love far surpasses the Sins of Men That He prevents and assists us by the inspirations of his Holy Spirit and pardons our Iniquities when we are truly sorrowful for them Secondly towards Christ with these Words Our Sins we must confess are many and great but God has laid them all upon Jesus Christ by whose Sufferings we are redeemed from them And forasmuch as we were not able to make Satisfaction for them by reason of our own unworthiness his Love for us has extended so far as to give his only Son to be a Saviour to us His Humility has brought down and destroy'd our Pride His Patience our Passions His Charity our Hatred His Cross our Luxury and His Obedience even to die for us has blotted out all our Transgressions And as the least of his Torments was sufficient to satisfie the Justice of God so through these infinite Merits of his may we ask of Him both the Remission of our Sins and Inheritance of His Kingdom Let the Patient for his Comfort remember that he is to have for his Judge this same Jesus who is now at the right Hand of God making Intercession for him and call to mind how gracious He was to St. Peter whom He pardoned almost the same moment he denied Him Let him think of the Charitable Words He pronounced upon the Cross on behalf of his very Enemies Father forgive them for they know not what they do and those he spake to the Penitent Thief That the self-same day he should be with him in Paradise In short let him be perswaded that God has a greater desire to save him than he himself can have to be saved and therefore he has not the least cause to be diffident of his Mercy 3. The Minister may sustain his Hope and Confidence in God's Goodness and Mercy by the Example of divers Holy Persons that remitted the injuries done to them as Joseph David St. Stephen and others teaching him therefrom that if these who were but Men had so much Meekness and Charity as to forgive their very Persecutors what ought not we to expect from God the Fountain of Mercy Whose Goodness will appear still the greater by how much more numerous the Sins are which He pardons to us That therefore provided he has a broken and contrite Heart he needs not in the least apprehend his being rejected or abandoned for though his Transgressions were more heinous than those of the Devils themselves the Cross of Christ is sufficient for the abolishing of them We do not mean that the Minister should say all these things at once and in the Order here prescribed as if he made a set Discourse to him but that he use his Discretion in speaking them by little and little and at several times according as he shall find the Patient in a Condition of hearing him and of receiving Comfort therefrom He may also introduce and relate in few words the History of the Prodigal Son of Mary Magdalen of the Samaritan and of the Cananitish Woman mention'd in the Gospel with that of the whole People of the Jews whom God conducted into the Land of Promise notwithstanding their continual Rebellions and Unfaithfulnesses Let him likewise put the Patient in mind of the Passage in Ezekiel where God says He will forget the iniquities of a Sinner at what hour soever he shall turn and repent That Pardon is in the Gospel it self secured to us upon Condition of our forgiving our Enemies and therefore we ought not to doubt of Forgiveness at God's hand if we for his sake freely and entirely forgive them that have offended us Thus shall the Minister support his Hope by continually saying before him God's Mercies and Promises of Pardon to us for the sake of Christ's Blood that was shed for all Sinners and assuring him that God will not fail to assist him by his Grace nor will suffer him to fall away and miscarry in what concerns his Eternal Salvation Which having said and added thereto what else he may think fit for the same purpose he shall admonish the Patient to apply himself to God in this manner Lord I am an ungrateful Son yet still thy Son Thou having both created me and adopted me in Jesus Christ Thy very Son Co-substantial with Thee O Lord in Thee I have put my trust let me never be confounded I am a prodigal Child I acknowledg that I have sinned against Heaven and before Thee and am no more worthy to be called Thy Son But O my God! are not Thy Mercies greater than my Transgressions Let him say with St. Anselm Lord though I have kindled lust in my Heart can I have quenched Mercy in Thine Though I have commited Sins for which Thou mayst justly condemn me hast thou departed from that Goodness and Clemency by which Thou wast wont to pardon and indulge me Have mercy upon me O my Father For thine own sake and for thy dear Son Jesus Christ ' s sake forgive me all that is past I do earnestly repent I am heartily sorry for all my Misdoings Abolish them in the death and wash them away in the Blood of my Blessed Redeemer Let him also say with Job Though thou should'st kill me yet will I hope in Thee And with David Why art Thou so vexed O my Soul and why art thou disquieted within me O put thy trust in God and remember that He is Thy Comfort and Defence Lord enter not into judgment with thy Servant I fly to thy Clemency I implore thy Mercy not thy Justice Judge me not O Lord according to my Deserts Deal not with me after my sins neither reward me after mine iniquities All which let the Patient be advis'd